Makgadikgadi Pans | Walking with Zu/’hoasi | “But in the Kalahari, it's always Tuesday, or Thursday if you like. Or Sunday. No clocks or calendars tel

botswana - Fernwayer Travel Stories & Experiences

Botswana

“But in the Kalahari, it's always Tuesday, or Thursday if you like. Or Sunday. No clocks or calendars tell you to do this or that.” - The Gods Must be Crazy

Walking with the Zu/’hoasi Bushmen of the Makgadikgadi Plains in the Central Kalahari, quintessential hunter-gatherers, I learned several things that I hope never to have to use - how to pronounce first names that are laden with clicks, collect plants for medicinal recipes, dig for scorpions, and make a fire with twigs and leaves.

Makgadikgadi means 'dry, dry', but the bush men and women know how to live in harmony with the land. Family and cultural ties are strong.

Thanks to Jack’s Camp for organizing this visit, they have longstanding connections with the local people.

Walking with Zu/’hoasi

United States

Meet the Lion. Landlord of the Okavango floodplains. The fearless prides of lions here are known to hunt buffaloes and elephants. They have large prides, with several young cubs. In the delta, as it is elsewhere, it’s all about power and opportunism.
🐃 | 🦁 | 🐘 
“The Okavango Delta is an astonishing sight: the great Okavango River, rather than flow towards the sea, flows inland, into the sands of the Kalahari.”- Alexander McCall Smith

The delta is clearly a fluke of nature, and the way to appreciate it best is from the air, especially in June and July when you can see the progress of the rain water flooding into the area and turning it into a lush paradise teeming with wildlife. 

It’s a very special place.

Botswana

Central District

Walking with Zu/’hoasi

North-West District

Lion vs. Buffalo